


The Master Returns

by cumberverse



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-12
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:21:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22684630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cumberverse/pseuds/cumberverse
Summary: The Master spends years in the time lock before figuring out how to escape. When he does, life moves on, but with an old friend at his side.
Relationships: Eleventh Doctor/The Master (Simm), Tenth Doctor/The Master (Simm), The Doctor/The Master (Doctor Who)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 114





	1. Return

Returning to Gallifrey wasn't kind for The Master.

Almost immediately he was put on trial for the attempted murder of Lord President Rassilon. He just barely won the trial, only winning because some Time Lords saw it fit for him to be freed since they brought his actions upon themselves.

After that came the wonderful activity of healing his body so it would stop leaking his life energy. It took almost a full Earth Year to fix. Along with that came the loss of his abilities to shoot electricity and jump higher than he physically should be able to.

Under any other circumstance, he'd be downright pissed by losing them. But, losing them saved his life so he can't rightfully complain.

Then came the lull of silence, the drums were gone and he was stuck in the time lock on Gallifrey with no way to escape.

Or at least so he thought for a while. Then he realized a solution. Nothing can enter or leave the time lock as long as there's nothing outside the lock connecting them.

The Master had always had a telepathic connection with the Doctor, whether he liked it or not, meaning he had a way to get out. It took three Earth years and a newly made time warp band with the ability to track telepathic wave lengths to escape.

He was ecstatic when he landed in the same British estate only minutes after he'd been first stuck in the time lock.

The Doctor's brown eyes went wide when he saw the Master standing there, still in the same incarnation and not dead. Then moments later he was across the room hugging the Master in tears.

"Hey, I've been gone for five minutes at tops for you, why're you acting like it's been years?" The Master asked.

"I thought you'd be gone forever." The Doctor mumbled into his shoulder.

"Yeah, no. You know you can never get rid of me." He jokes.

They stay like that for a few moments, only stopped by the Master when he gets the feeling that something's wrong. A look at the Doctor's face proves what he thought. "I leave for a few minutes and you already manage to die quicker than me" He jokes.

"Don't." The Doctor replies barely above a whisper.

"I'd ask, but..." the Master says, looking past the Doctor to the nuclear bolt machine which was now off.

"You'd be right." The Doctor replies, dropping his arms.

"Well, how long?" He asks.

"I don't know. Minutes at the most." The Doctor replies.

"Well, better get a move on." He hums.

"Right, coming with then?"

"Absolutely, I'd rather regenerate than use this bloody thing again." He says with a wave of his wrist showing off the device strapped to it.

The Doctor laughs softly and in a few minutes they've entered the TARDIS and are traveling to Wilfred's house to drop him off. The Master waves dully at the woman who greets them when she recognizes him as Harry Saxon.

The sheer determination to stave off the regeneration impresses the Master as he watches his friend travel to see old friends before he goes. The Master stays in the TARDIS through most of them, not wanting to get in a fight with anyone who could recognize him for who he really is.

It's only when the Doctor stumbles into the TARDIS heaving for air does the Master take action.

He helps the man remove his jacket and lean against the console. "Shouldn't we move you to a safer spot and actually land the TARDIS?" He questions.

"No time, plus, where's the fun in that?" The Doctor asks, a tired look in his eyes.

"Your fault if we crash." He huffs.

The Doctor smiles sadly, tears welling up in his eyes. "I don't want to go." He says.

There's a soft glowing coming from the Doctor's hand, and it creeps up to the rest of his body. The Master tries to quickly find some comforting words, but can't come up with anything, so he just smiles back and replies with a quick "Good luck."

A tear falls from the Doctor's eye then his head whips back and his arms pushed out as violent golden flames burst from him. Immediately the TARDIS reacts badly and the Master is thrown back against the wall. "Oh, fuck." He barely wheezes out, "That felt lovely."

A coral pillar falls and crashed into the console and ground. Then the golden lights are gone with a shout from the new Doctor. The Master climbs up back onto the main platform, avoiding the flames that started cropping up, and stares at the new Doctor. "Legs! I've still got legs! Good!" The Master's face twists up in confusion and then annoyance as the Doctor lifts a leg up and kisses it.

"Hearts! Hands! Ooh, fingers, lots of fingers. Ears, yes. Eyes, two, nose. Mm, I've had worse. Chin, blimey. Hair. I'm a girl! No! No, I'm not a girl! And still not ginger! There's something else. Something important, what is it?" The Master is completely thrown off by the one-eighty the Doctor's personality took. "I'm-I'm-I'm-"

"Fucks sake, Doctor! We're crashing!" The Master shouts as he stands up.

The TARDIS lurches and throws the two Time Lords askew. "Right, crashing!" The Doctor replies with a laugh.

The two rush around the console, trying to stabilize the burning TARDIS. One laughing and one seriously trying to not get them killed. Take a guess as to who's who. The Doctor stops in front of the screen and laughs brightly. "Geronimo!" He shouts.

"Now's not the bloody time for laughing!" The Master snaps.

The Doctor looks to reply but is cut off by the console bursting into sparks. The TARDIS lurches again and the doors swing open, throwing the Doctor through them.

"Doctor!" The Master shouts, running after him.

It takes him a few moments to see the other Time Lord clinging to the floor of the TARDIS with wide panicked eyes.

He's brought back into it with the Master's help as they fly over Big Ben. The Master shoves the Doctor further into the main room and pulls the doors shut. "This is why we should've landed for the regeneration!" he shouts over the chaos.

"No, no! That's boring! This is fun, Master!" The Doctor shouts back.

"In what universe does this count as fun?!" He exclaims.

"This one!" The Doctor cheers right before the TARDIS crashes and they're thrown into the depths of the TARDIS, only saved by the swimming pool.

The Master is dazed for a few seconds, then swims to the surface, dragging the Doctor with him. He could easily last under the water, but he hates being submerged. Reminds him of being stuck in the center of the TARDIS, completely awful.

He climbs out the water, annoyed that his red-orange robes have been drenched now. "Gonna need these dry cleaned." He huffs, wringing out the jacket.

"Think there's a room for that somewhere in here." The Doctor replies, "Now, let's see where we landed!"

"Wh-Doc, no. We're drenched. We're not leaving the TARDIS like this." The master replies, but follows the other man anyway.

"Doctor, yes. We need to make sure we're somewhere safe before letting the old girl repair herself." The Doctor replies.

The console room is flipped on its side, and they find themselves throwing a rope out the TARDIS doors and climbing up it when it's steady. "Oh, it's night time!" The Doctor notes.

The Master uses the railing near the doors to steady himself as he waits for the Doctor to exit. "Can I have an apple?"

"Who are you talking to?" The Master asks.

"All I can think about are apples," The Doctor continues, ignoring the Master, "I love apples. Maybe I'm having a craving! That's new, never had those before."

The Master rolls his eyes then follows the Doctor out the TARDIS.

In front of them is a young girl with orange hair, staring at them confusedly. "Are you okay?" She asks.

"Just had a fall! All the way down there right to the library. Hell of a climb back up." The Doctor explains.

"You're soaking wet."

"Good observation, it's 'cause we were in the pool." The Master explains dryly.

"He just said you were in the library." She says, pointing her flash light to the Doctor.

"So is the swimming pool." The Doctor says, wringing out his tie.

"Are you policemen?" She questions.

"Why?" The Doctor asks, leaning forward, "Did you call for policemen?"

"Did you come about the crack in my wall?" She asks.

"What crac-AH!" The Doctor cuts himself off, clutching at his chest. The Master just barely catches him from falling. "Always messing your regeneration up." He huffs.

"Is he alright, Mister?" The girl asks.

"I'm fine!" The Doctor wheezes, "It's okay, this is all perfectly normal!"

He coughs and golden energy vapor flows from his mouth and into the air. "Who... Who are you?" The girl asks.

"I don't know yet." The Doctor notes, looking at his palely glowing hands, "I'm still cooking."

"Please, never refer to regeneration as that ever again." The Master complains.

All he gets in response is a cheeky smile. "Does it scare you?" The Doctor asks, turning back to the girl.

"No, it just looks a bit weird." The girl says.

"Probably the chin." The Master says, grinning.

The Doctor seems to ignore him, "No, no, no, I mean the crack. Does the crack in your wall scare you?"

"Yes." The girl hesitantly says.

"Well then! No time to lose!" The Doctor exclaims, pushing away from the Master to stand on his own, "I'm the Doctor, this is my friend, the Master. Do everything I tell you, and nothing he tells you. Don't ask stupid questions, and don't wander off."

The Master goes to tell the Doctor off for talking about him that way, but shuts his mouth as he watches the Doctor walk directly into a few stacks off hay and fall backwards. The Master rolls his eyes and stifles his laughter with a huff. "You alright?" The girl asks.

"Better days." The Doctor replies, "Steerings off."

"Your steering is always off." The Master says, holding a hand out to help the man up.

The Doctor takes his hand and stands up. "Maybe. But, the new body makes it worse." He hums, brushing himself off.

The girl watches them, confused. "Now, what about that apple?"

The Master goes to protest against going into the girl's house, but stops. It'd be no use to argue against the Doctor, especially while he's loopy from regeneration energy.

So, he resolves himself to accept a towel from the girl to dry himself off. He watches as the girl fetches and cooks for the Doctor after each food is rejected. After the girl suggests trying carrots, the Doctor decides he truly knows what he needs.

The Master glares at the weird mixture of fish sticks and custard. "New mouth, bad rules." He says.

"Don't knock it 'till you try it." The Doctor says.

"I'd rather knock it and not try it. It looks disgusting."

"Speaking of knocking, you're getting water everywhere." The Doctor says, pointing a fish finger to the Master's water soaked robes.

"Not my fault that Gallifreyan robes are so good at soaking water up." The Master grumbles, trying to wring more water out into a towel.

"I have a bathroom you can use to wring them out better." The girl says, setting a tub of ice cream down.

"Do your parents always let you eat that much ice cream?" The Doctor questions.

"Don't have a Mum or Dad." The girl says sadly, "Just an Aunt."

"I don't even have an Aunt." The Doctor says.

"You're lucky!" The girl exclaims.

"I know." The Doctor says with a smile, "Your Aunt? Where is she?"

"She's out." The girl says.

"And she left you all alone?!"

"I'm not scared!" The girl says defensively.

"'Course you're not! You're not scared of anything," The Doctor says, as if it were common knowledge, "Box falls out of the sky, two men fall out of the box, one man eats fish custard, the other trails water everywhere, and look at you! Just sitting there. So, you know what I think?"

"What?"

"Must be a hell of a scary crack in your wall." The Doctor concludes.

There's silence, and the girl looks down at her ice cream. "What's so scary about a crack anyway?" The Master asks.

"Don't know, but it must be scarier than us." The Doctor says.

"Pft, as if you're scary." The Master says, almost laughing.

"What's your name?" The Doctor asks the girl, once again choosing to ignore the Master.

"Amelia Pond." She says.

"Amelia Pond." The Doctor repeats. "That's a brilliant name."

"Like a name in a fairy tale." The Master says.

"Exactly what I was thinking!" The Doctor smiles.

The Master rolls his eyes and stands. "Where's the bathroom?" He asks Amelia.

"Just down the hallway on the left." She says.

The Master nods and exits. He removes his clothing and wrings them out in the tub, scowling at how much water was soaked into the clothes.

He only exits when he hears the Doctor rushing down the stairs and shouting, fear pressing at his mind. It takes him only a few moments to gather his clothes and sprint after the Doctor and into the TARDIS.

He ignores the chattering between Amelia and the Doctor, and instead takes to trying to not fall further into the TARDIS as he clings to the console.

"Doctor! Hurry up!" The Master snaps, fed up with waiting.

He hears the Doctor say something else then he's falling into the TARDIS shouting geronimo. The Master rolls his eyes then yanks the rope to shut the TARDIS doors and sets it flying.

They land not moments later, upright this time. The Doctor comes walking back into the console room, soaking again. "I swear I've never seen someone treat their TARDIS worse than you." The Master huffs.

"Says the man who's wearing half a robe." The Doctor says.

The Master looks down at his soaking pants and naked chest then back to the Doctor. "Didn't exactly have time to get dressed when you ran off shouting at the TARDIS." He huffs, grabbing the orange under shirt.

"Well, now you should have time. We just have to exit, apologize to Amelia for running off then get a change of clothes while he wait for the Old Girl to fix herself." The Doctor says, patting the console.

"I'd love to change clothes first." He grumbles.

"As would I, but we need to make sure Amelia is safe first." The Doctor says.

"Right, let's see if the ape is okay." He says flatly.

The Doctor chooses to ignore him again and walks out the TARDIS. "It's day time." He says.

The Master follows him out and looks around. "Guess we left her waiting overnight." He notes, then frowns. _That can't be right,_ He thinks, _Doesn't smell the same_.

"We better apologize then!" The Doctor says interrupting the Master's thoughts as he starts determinedly walking to the house.

"No-no, no 'we', _you_ are apologizing for promising we'd be back in five minutes." The Master says, pointing a finger at him.

"Same thing." The Doctor says.

The Doctor tries the door, locked. "Well, time to turn back, we're obviously not welcomed back." The Doctor points his screwdriver at the door and it clicks open, then pointedly looks to the Master, who shrugs. "It was worth a try." He concludes.

The Doctor rolls his eyes and then enters. "This doesn't seem like a good idea." The Master notes, following him in.

"You're one to talk, Saxon." The Doctor says.

"Oh, shut up." The Master glares.

The Doctor goes to reply but the Master doesn't hear it. Something collides with his head and he crumples to the ground, blacking out.


	2. Air

_ He gasps, collapsing to the ground, heaving labored breaths into his lungs. _

_ He could feel the energy crackle in his palms, feel the thin grasp of life fade from him. _

No… no! _ He thinks angrily,  _ I will not die here!

_ He forces his eyes open, the brilliant lights blinding him momentarily. He rolls to his stomach and starts pushing himself to stand when the job gets done for him by a gauntled hand picking him up off the ground by his neck. _

_ "You!" The other man bellows. _

_ He stares into the eyes of the Lord President. Rassilon's eyes burn with hatred and anger. "You did this to us!" He shouts. _

_ The Master doesn't respond, just tries fruitlessly to kick and claw himself out of the President's grasp. "I should kill you for your crimes." _

_ "Lord President, he deserves a trial." A gentle, but old voice pipes up. _

_ Rassilon turns to meet the eyes of the woman. "He kept you from reuniting with your son. He kept us all from bringing Gallifrey back to it's glory. He's damned us all!" _

_ "No," Says the woman, "He's saved us. He's doing exactly what the Doctor would've done." _

_ The Master almost chokes on the little air getting into his lungs. "Never!" He barely spits out. _

_ "Never what?" The President demands. _

_ "Never let you win." He wheezes out with a thin grin on his face. _

_ The President throws him back to the ground and the Master gasps for air. "You will get your trial, Lord Master, and you will fail." _

_ The Master grins back, wordlessly challenging the President. _

\---

"Did-Did he just bring them back?" Rory asks.

The Master follows the Doctor out the room, ignoring Rory's continuous babble.

"Where are you going?" Amy demands.

"To the roof!" The Doctor replies, "No! Hang on."

They take a turn into an employee section, following along as the Doctor grabs clothes. The Master lags behind, looking at the clothes the Doctor threw behind him.

His clothes have mostly dried, but are uncomfortable given the moist texture to them. Despite the slight chill he has, he decides to stay in what he's wearing. The orange shirt and black pants don't look bad, nor do they look spectacular, but none of the ape's clothes would add onto them.

He looks back to the others and almost immediately looks away, seeing the Doctor naked.

With multiple ties around his neck and the humans forced to carry the other articles of clothing the Doctor wants, they head up to the roof.

On top of the roof they see the Atraxi leader staring down at them. "So, that was a good idea, was it?" Amelia questions, "They were leaving!"

"Leaving is good. Never coming back is better." The Doctor says, "Come on then! The Doctor will see you now!"

The Master holds back his urge to roll his eyes and make a snarky remark. The Eye flies down from his ship, stopping in front of the Doctor and looks at the four of them. The action prompts the Master to move to stand beside the Doctor. The Eye scans the two Time Lords. **"You are not of this world."** It states.

"No, but I've put a lot of work into it." The Doctor says, putting suspenders on.

"As have I." The Master adds, getting him an odd look from the Doctor.

**"Is this world important to you?"** The Eye asks.

"Important?" The Doctor asks, sounding offended by the question, "What's that mean? Important? Six billion people live here! Is that important? Here's a better question: is this world a threat to the Atraxi?"

There's no reply from the Eye. "Well, c'mon, you're monitoring the entire planet. Is this world a threat?" The Master demands.

A hologram of the Earth appears in front of them, coming from the Eye. Images of the Earth's history flash through the sphere, then return to the Earth.  **"No."** The Eye concludes.

"Are the peoples of this Earth guilty of any crime by the laws of the Atraxi?"

More images flash in the sphere,  **"No."**

"Okay! One more, just one. Is this world protected?"

Images of cybermen, and daleks, and many more aliens flash in the sphere. "You're not the first to stop here! Oh, so many more have come here. And what you've got to ask is: what happened to them?"

Images of the Doctor and his past incarnations flash in the sphere. The hologram turns off as the Doctor walks through it. "Hello. I'm the Doctor." He says.

The Master, not letting his existence be over shown, steps up next to the Doctor. "And I'm the Master." He adds, glaring at the Eye.

"So basically... Run." The Doctor finishes.

The Eye says nothing more, just zips back to it's ship and flies off. The Master grins as it flees.

"Oh!" The Doctor exclaims, retrieving a glowing key from his pocket.

One glance to the Master says it all. The TARDIS is back. They shoot off running through the hospital and back to Amelia's house to get to the TARDIS.

The TARDIS stands there, pristine and new looking. "Okay. What have you got for me this time?" The Doctor asks coming to a halt.

He grabs the key and opens the TARDIS doors. The two Time Lords stand there, staring at the new interior. "Look at her! Oh, she's gorgeous!" The Doctor says brightly.

They enter the TARDIS, the doors shutting behind them. In moments the Doctor is running around the console, sending them off flying into space. "Don't think I've seen you run that fast from humans before." The Master jokes.

"This is a time machine, Master. We can be back in twenty minutes if we want to." The Doctor replies, setting the TARDIS to float in the Earth's atmosphere.

"Uhuh, and the last time you said that we shot off fourteen years into the future." The Master replies.

"While the TARDIS was broken, now she's repaired herself and she's all good to work." The Doctor huffs, "Besides, why do you care? You've never shown any care for them before."

"I don't care. I'm just curious why you don't." That doesn't get him a reply. "Anyway, where's the wardrobe in here? As much as I like my Gallifreyan robes, I'd much rather have a new outfit. Or at least add onto the base."

The Doctor grins and leads him down to the gigantic closet. "You can wear anything except the outfits I've worn before." He says.

"Not that I'd ever do that." The Master scrunches up his nose at the idea of him wearing the Doctor's clothes.

The Doctor laughs a bit then flops onto a couch near the entrance. "I'll wait for you to finish." He says.

"Don't trust me?" The Master asks as he looks through a row.

"Mm... not exactly." The Doctor replies.

"Does your statement still hold true?" The Master asks.

"What statement?" The Doctor asks.

"On the Valiant. You said you'd keep me here, on the TARDIS as it's the only safe place for me."

"Oh, right. I did say that." The Doctor says, "How long has it been since?"

"Since the Valiant or?"

"Since you got stuck in the Time Lock."

The Master removes his shoes, "Seven Earth years." He says, "Give or take a few months."

"So, you've time to mellow out? Unless the drums are still there."

The Master freezes for a moment, hands still on the boots he was untying. He's acutely aware of the Doctor watching him closely. "No." He finally says, moving again, "They took them from me."

"The Time Lords took them away?" The Doctor asks surprised.

"Technically you did when you broke the connection. They didn't disappear but dulled into a low beat. When they fixed me from constantly draining my life energy, they also completely removed the drums." He explains, putting a boot on, "The silence nearly drove me mad."

They fall silent, the only sound coming from the Master as he puts the boots on and ties them. "What about now?" The Doctor finally asks.

The Master shrugs, standing up. "I've learned to deal, I suppose. The quiet is still unnerving, but, well, I've got my hands if it gets bad enough." He jokes poorly, tapping the beat out against his hand.

"Does it scare you?" The Doctor asks.

"What? The silence?" He asks, turning back to the row of clothes, "No. It's just weird."

"So, you're more stable than you were with them?" The Doctor asks.

"So many questions, Doc. Starting to prefer your previous incarnation now, despite how moody he was." The Master says.

"You're dodging the question." The Doctor warns.

"And you're asking too many questions." The Master quips back, "You're lucky that I am stable enough to calmly answer."

"So, that's a yes then?"

The Master sighs, "Yes, that's a yes." He doesn't need to look to the Doctor to know he's smiling. "Now, you have to answer the question you dodged from me."

"Yes, it still stands." The Doctor replies, "At least until I know I can trust you enough to not run off and kill people."

The Master doesn't reply, he just turns and goes deeper into the wardrobe. He doesn't add much to the outfit, just a belt and some dog tags with circular Gallifreyan written on them. In English it translates to "Don't be cowardly and stand your ground."

_ A dumb Time Lord philosophy, _ He thinks,  _ A dumb but true one.  _ He lets the chain losely hang around his neck and over his shirt. No one but the Doctor will be able to know what it means.

"Should I leave the pants untucked, or tuck them into the boots?" He questions as he emerges from the wardrobe.

The Doctor thinks for a moment then shrugs. "Both would be fine, in my opinion."

"How helpful." The Master says dryly. He decides to have one tucked and the other untucked. He doesn't attempt to contain his grin as he feels the Doctor's annoyance at the action. "What now?" He asks, straightening up.

"We figure out your arrangements." The Doctor says, standing up.

The grin falls from the Master's face. "Right." He says.

"Firstly, your room." The Doctor says.

"My room?" The Master questions, following the Doctor out the wardrobe.

"Where else would you stay at night?" The Doctor asks.

The Master pauses, pondering if he should be honest with what he was thinking. Then decides against it and just shrugs. "Exactly. You may be under house arrest for a while, but you still deserve a room to call your own! Trust me, the TARDIS makes good- oh! She already did."

The Master raises an eyebrow, seeing a door with Gallifreyan on it stating his name. "That was quick." He says.

"She's a smart one." The Doctor says proudly and opens the door.

The inside is very simple. The standard, the Master realizes. A bed with two night stands on each side, a bathroom next to the door, a few paintings scattered around the walls and a bookshelf on the other wall next to the door. "Is there a way to change how it looks?" He asks.

The Doctor doesn't reply, he just taps a painting and it changes to show an interface. "Yup! Knock yourself out with it." He says.

"I'll change it later." The Master decides.

"You hungry?" The Doctor asks.

"You change topics quickly." The Master points out, "But, yes, haven't eaten since I was in the Time Lock."

"Well! Let's go to the kitchen!" The Doctor exclaims then drags the Master into the kitchen.

The Master is surprised at how simple it is. A table is in the center of the room, and along the right wall all the cupboards, counters and appliances rest there. "What're you hungry for?" The Doctor asks.

"Anything besides what you ate at that girl's house." The Master says.

"Fish custard is good! You should really try it."

"I'd really rather not."

~☆~

Over dinner (which isn't much of a dinner as it consists of the Doctor eating more fish custard and the Master eating a sandwich) they decide what their agreement is going to be for the Master staying with him.

For a month, the Master will only be able to access all the rooms in the TARDIS except the console room. He has to wear golden bracelets that prevent him from exiting into the console room. He's had worse punishments he decides in the end.

The bracelets hover around his wrists, but attempting to remove them is a fruitless task. They seem to be locked into one spot and track where his wrists are at all times so they can move with him.

He isn't grateful for the Doctor making him wear them, but again, worse things have been done to him. Plus a month isn't long in the span of things.

After dinner he retreats to his room.

He finds his Gallifreyan robes on the bed neatly folded with his screwdriver and time warp band sitting on top. A slow smile rolls onto his face as he pockets the items. "Best keep these with me."

He slips the robes back on, only because he doesn't want to lose them as he rearranges the room.

After an hour he settles on an interesting layout.

The bedroom walls change from an off white to a dark silver with black trimming. The floor from simple white to a gray carpet. The bedding changes from a white to silver with a black underside. The paintings change from their basic human look, to those of Gallifreyan landscapes (he spends longer than he'd like to admit staring at them, realizing just what he did by leaving Gallifrey behind). The night stands and bookshelf change from a light tan to a dark oak, and adds two lamps on the nightstands.

He adds a closet to store whatever clothes and other items he picks up and stores his robes in there. In the end he leaves the white polished bathroom alone.

He sits on the bed, looking at the rest of the room. "What now?" He softly asks.

The TARDIS hums in response and he almost laughs. "Even after all I did to you, and you're still being friendly to me." He says, slightly amazed.

An image of him falling into the center of the TARDIS flashes in his mind, then how she looked when he cannibalized her, finished with the word  **EVEN** .

"Ah, so we're even then?" He asks.

She hums and he grins. "Good to know. Wouldn't want to stay if you were determined to make my life a living hell." He says.

The TARDIS seems to laugh at him in response.  _ Maybe this won't be so bad. _ He thinks, stretching out against the bed.

It doesn't take long for him to drift off to sleep.


	3. Regret

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not very happy with this chapter but i want to publish it anyway :pp hope you enjoy nonetheless

_He's shackled and escorted to a cell._

_The Time Lords say nothing to him as they lock the cell and leave him._

_He waits until he knows for sure that he's alone before blasting the shackles off._

_The Master rubs at his wrist and glares at the door. He says nothing, taking to sit on the uncomfortable bed he's given and catch his breath._

_Two days ago he was risen from the dead. Two days ago his human wife attempted to kill him from coming back and killed herself in the process. Two days ago he and the Doctor sat in a junkyard remembering Gallifrey as it was when they were children._

_A day ago he was kidnapped and brought an alien machine to life. A day ago he made almost everyone but three people on Earth into him. A day ago he almost cried in front of the Doctor._

_Today he brought the Time Lords back. Today he realized nothing was the Doctor's fault. Today he chose to stand with the Doctor and sacrificed himself so his friend could live on with that stupid ape filled planet._

_Today he's sitting in a cell on the planet he once so desperately wanted to go back to, and realized:_

_He didn't want to be here at all._

_\---_

The days pass relatively calmly.

The first few days were mostly focused on the Master getting a routine rather than anything else. He occasionally chatted with the Doctor, nothing relatively heavy came up between them, moreso just the Doctor telling him about what he did during his tenth incarnation after the year that never happened.

His routine didn't hold much to it. In the morning he'd shower, eat and talk with the Doctor. Most of the day was spent in the library or searching the TARDIS. At night he'd eat dinner with the Doctor and converse, and then at night, when he couldn't sleep, he'd hole up in his room and tinker with whatever items he found to bring to his room.

He didn't care if the Doctor frowned upon it, he wasn't building anything dangerous.

The Master was building a companion of sorts. It wasn't big, a 5.7 by 5.7 cm cube. For the most part, the cube stayed a consistent black colour until turned on, then it flashed blue and opened into an interactive interface.

It didn't do much, only kept notes, entries on people he knew, and could record audio and visuals.

He kept it on his night stand and before going to bed he'd talk to it and give a run down of his day and his progress on the TARDIS. He wasn't planning anything evil, nor did he have a true reason to track his life as he has a photographic memory, but he didn't have a reason to not do it.

On the sixth day, Amy Pond was brought onto the TARDIS much to the Master's disdain. He kept his mouth shut though, not wanting an argument with the Doctor. He wanted to get out of the TARDIS as quick as possible, not get stuck in longer.

The Master didn't talk to her much, nor did he join them on their adventures, during dinner he'd sit and fake interest in hearing what they did during the day.

Currently, the Master was exiting his room to go to the kitchen, he'd spent most of the day working on another cube and finally decided to eat. He stopped just outside the door when he heard talking.

"Why do you seem so tense around him when he's around?" Amy asked.

"When who's around?" The Doctor asked.

"Your friend, the one with shaggy blond hair and eyeliner."

There's silence for a moment and the Master is convinced he won't reply. "Because I worry he may act out."

"Act out?" Amy questions.

"You don't know him, and I'm guessing you didn't follow him or pay attention to him when he was Prime Minister, but he's dangerous. Or at least he was." The Doctor sighs, "I don't know anymore, honestly."

"Dangerous?"

"Absolutely."

"And he's on here with us right now?" The Master could feel the fear radiating from her.

"He's... better. I think." The Doctor says, "The thing that used to make him mad was taken from him. It was never his fault in the end, but he went with it..."

"Well, if it was taken from him and he's no longer mad, then he should be safe now then, yeah?"

"I suppose. It's why he's staying here. I'm watching him to make sure he can be trusted."

"Has he done anything untrustworthy so far?"

"No, nothing. I think his time away did him good."

"Time away?"

The Master cringes, and contemplates walking into the kitchen to break off any chance of her knowing his full story. Then decides against it, he may as well test to see if the Doctor is trustworthy in keeping his story away.

"It's not a story I'd like to get into. Just, be careful around him, okay? He's still unpredictable even if he hasn't done anything dangerous yet." The Doctor finally says.

The Master bristles at the Doctor saying he could be dangerous. He is dangerous, through and through, there's no doubt about it. He has control now though, and proves it by not acting on the annoyance and takes to turning and walking back to his room. He snaps and the information cube springs to life. "Record me." He demands.

The screen flickers to a camera, showing the Master reflected in it and the cube beeps, informing him the recording has started.

He picks up the new cube. It's a simple pink cube with silver lining. "The cube I'm holding is going to be my second attempt at making a non-living companion. Unlike the one I'm speaking to, this one will be built with a focus on emotional and empathetic abilities.

"It will be able to emote and respond to emotions others show it. It will only start out with four basic emotions: curiosity, joy, tiredness, and neutral. Tiredness will only be invoked when it's low on battery until it learns how to become tired from emotions.

"I suspect it won't take very long to experience it when it's been awake long enough to deal with me for more than twenty minutes." He laughs softly at his own joke, then continues, "It's curiosity will always be active unless it's put into a neutral state. It's neutral state can only be invoked by me. Joy will be invoked when it learns something new or finds something it enjoys."

He pauses talking to pull his tools out from under the bed. "It will only be able to turn on from me, as I'm the only person working on it right now. In the future, if I were to ever gift it to someone, I would switch that from me to whoever is receiving it.

"It would still recognize me as it's creator, but won't be able to be controlled by me anymore. It won't have any control over who controls it, and it may come to resent that fact if it learns how to resent."

He flips open his tool case and opens the pink cube up. "The mechanics of this cube work similarly to the one I'm speaking to right now. The center is powered by-"

_Knock knock._

The Master stops talking for a moment. "Stop me." He says.

There's a beep from the blue cube, and it turns off with a snap. He shuts the pink cube, setting it next to the now black cube then puts the tool case back under the bed.

_Knock knock._

He's momentarily annoyed by the persistence, and opens the door to the Doctor standing there. "Hello." He says.

"You didn't come for dinner." The Doctor states.

They both know it's a lie. "No. I didn't." He replies.

"Why?" The Doctor asks.

The Master steps back from the door and walks back into his room. A small click tells him the Doctor shut his door. "Didn't feel like conversing after what you told your pet." He says.

"Amy isn't-" The Doctor stops himself with a sigh, "Look, I'm not sorry for what I said, it's all true, but listen-"

"No, I get you don't trust me. I probably wouldn't if I were in your shoes. You didn't have to go and tell the ape that, though. Again." He interrupts.

"Again?" The Doctor questions.

"When she was a little girl you told her to not listen to me or a word I say." He explains.

"Doesn't mean she remembers it."

"Oh, she remembers everything about that night and we both know it. Think the multiple therapists attests to that."

The Doctor doesn't reply, instead stares at the Master with tired eyes. "I didn't come to argue." He finally says.

The Master just barely deflates. "I know." He says, "But I have a right to be annoyed when I wasn't there to defend myself. Not that I care about what your pet thinks of me, it's more the action that annoys me."

They stare at each other for another few moments, "If I promise to not talk about you without you around, would that help?" The Master ponders that for a moment then nods, "Then I promise I won't talk about you to her without you around unless absolutely necessary."

"Thank you." The Master says and fully deflates. The Doctor smiles tiredly. "You haven't been sleeping, have you?"

The Doctor shakes his head. "Not really, no."

The Master frowns and walks closer to the Doctor. "Why?"

The Doctor shrugs. "Finding this regeneration likes thinking too much." He jokes poorly.

The frown only deepens. "You could always ask for help." The Master informs.

Now it's the Doctor's turn to frown. "What do you mean?" He asks.

The Master stops in front of the Doctor and raises his hands up near the Doctor's head, silently asking for permission. The Doctor only nods in response. The Master sets his hands at the Doctor's temples and searches through his mind.

The intent here isn't to help, only to look like he's helping. No, in reality the Master is trying to scope out and see if there's anything the Doctor has planned for him.

Turns out the plan quickly fails as he sees nothing but the horrors plaguing the Doctor's mind, and against his own better judgement, he helps out. He takes the ball of threaded thoughts and gently unwinds and quiets them to a corner in the Doctor's mind. He doesn't force lock the thoughts away, just mutes them for a while. Giving the Time Lord a rest from their existence.

Minutes later, when he's satisfied with his work, he goes to pull his mind back but stops when the Doctor keeps him in place.

_What are you doing?_ He questions telepathically.

He doesn't get an answer, instead he's let go. He pulls away from the Doctor, who now looks much more tired and relaxed than before. "C'mon, let's get you to bed, Doc." He hums.

He helps walk the tired Doctor to his room and lays him on his bed. "Goodnight, Doc." He says, as he goes to walk away he hears "Goodnight, Kosh." mumbled from the Doctor.

His blood flushes hot and he quickly walks out of the room. He spends a moment outside the door trying to calm his racing hearts, then sets off to the kitchen.

In the kitchen he's greeted with Amy writing at the table. "So, he's not joining-" She stops seeing the Master standing there.

"I am now." He says.

"Where's the Doctor?" She asks.

"Sleeping. He almost passed out in my room." He says walking to the fridge.

"What happened?" The concern flowing from her amuses him.

"Nothing you need to worry your little ginger head about." He says, mockingly sweet.

"If you did anything to him, I swear-"

"You swear you'll do what? Kick me?" He scoffs "I'm ten times the strength you are, sweetheart."

"Was going to say that I'd tell him you threatened me while he was out." She says.

"Ooh, how spooky. The Doctor being disappointed in me!" He fakes a tone of dread then laughs.

"I'm serious." She says.

"I know, and it's all the more amusing." He says while pouring himself a glass of orange juice. He turns to face her, mirroring her serious look. "I've been disappointing the Doctor for centuries. I'm used to him being disappointed in me."

"Why?" She asks.

"None of your business, first off." He says, "Secondly, I'm not a good person."

"So I've been told." She says.

He huffs and goes back to the fridge, pulling out leftovers from the meal he had the other night. "You remember everything said the night we met you?"

"Yes. Why?" She asks.

"You remember what he said about me?"

There's a pause. "He told me that you're dangerous and that I shouldn't test you like I tested him."

The Master pauses, then turns to her, it's his turn to be confused. "When did he say that?"

"When he was looking at the crack in my room." She says.

"Ah, well, I wasn't referring to that." He says, "I was referring to when he introduced us to you when we crashed. He told you not to listen to anything I told you to do."

"Oh, yeah. I remember that." She says.

"I don't need to explain why he said that, since clearly he already did." He says, throwing the meal into the microwave, "But, he had every right to say that about me. I am dangerous and comparing me to the Doctor is like comparing a demon and an angel."

"You being the demon and the Doctor being an angel?" She asks.

"You humans always ask so many questions." He sneers, "Yes. Though the Doctor isn't a true saint. He just looks like one compared to me."

"What's he done then?"

"Nothing you need to know." He says, a tone of finality carried in his words.

Amy clearly doesn't care if he was done talking, "You're rude, y'know."

"What was that the Doctor said about me? Don't test me like you do with him?" He counters.

"Who says I should listen to a man who thinks bow ties are fashionable?" She retorts.

There's a moment of silence then the Master grins. "At least you have a somewhat functioning brain unlike the other apes on your planet." He says.

He removes the meal from the microwave and sets the plate and juice at the table, sitting across from her. "I'm no Einstein." She replies.

"No idea who that is." He says, "But you're no Time Lord that's for sure."

"Wouldn't that be Time Lady?" She asks.

The Master snorts, "Unlike you, my race isn't bound by your civilization's pathetic obsession with gender stereotypes."

"What do you mean by that?" She asks.

"Why do you care?" He counters, "Oh, right, you're interested because your own planet is boring and anything outside of it is amazing and you just need to know _everything_."

Amy frowns, "No, because I'd like to understand who I'm traveling with and the differences between our societies."

"News flash, sweetheart. Your society is beneath ours. You're lucky we're giving you the time of day considering we taught that every other species is beneath us." He says cooly.

"If my society is so beneath yours then why are you talking to me?" She asks, leaning forward.

The Master chews thoughtfully. Why is he talking to her? He realizes he has no idea, no that he'd admit it though. "Because, if the Doctor is keeping you on board and showing you around the universe like some curious pet, I may as well know who he's getting caught up with," is what he decides to be a good answer.

"So, you're testing me?" She asks

"Mm, in a way, I suppose." He says.

"You're pretty shit at it then." She says.

He just grins in response, she's no idea what he can do. She goes back to journaling and while he eats, he scopes out what he can mentally from her.

It's not hard to do so without touching her temples, after all he's got the most advanced telepathic abilities of any Time Lord that has ever existed. The only issue is that he can't get deep into her mind and access her memories, all he can do is search the outer layers of her mind. Her personality, drifting thoughts and whatever her mind openly lets loose

He quickly loses interest in her mind when he finds it to be like every other human's. Dull and boring.

He finishes the meal and puts the dishes in the dishwasher, he'll forever wonder why the Doctor chose to base his kitchen off a human one and not a normal Gallifreyan one. He'd love to use a Gallifreyan dishwasher again.

"What are you going to do now?" Amy asks.

"Why? Do you have something planned?" He turns to face her.

"No." She says.

"Then it's none of your business." He says with a smile that holds no friendliness to it, "Goodnight, Amelia."

"It's Amy." She corrects.

"I like Amelia better, sounds less friendly."

Amy stares at him for a moment then looks back at her journal, he doesn't bother waiting for a response and heads back to his room.


End file.
